NEOX
by j0099
Summary: This story starts with the X-Men. In this world Cyclops is killed. A long time X-man known as Renegade deiced to form his own team to get revenge for Cyclops. All of the people in this story have been created by me besides Storm and a few others
1. NeoX 1

The bell in the old church tower rang out five times to indicate the hour as a large group of people gathered around a grave. Everyone in the group bowed their heads in reverence for the dead just as the priest began to speak.

"Scott Summers will always be remembered for being a good husband, father, and friend," the priest said to the grief stricken group. "Now if you will, join me in the Our Father."

The group finished the prayer, and then each of them dropped a rose in the grave before walking back to their cars.

There was a lone figure still at the grave. He was cloaked in a black trench coat and wore a wide brim hat and thin sunglasses that left his eyebrows uncovered. His name was David Warden, a.k.a. Renegade. Cyclops was like a father to him. He was the reason David is here now working with the X-Men instead of in jail. He placed his rose on the pile with the others. "I owe you more then you will ever know," David stated in little more than a whisper.

The funeral was over, and Dave's limo continued steadily down the country road.

"I can't believe he's gone. It just hasn't hit me yet," Dave said as he lowered his head into his folded hands.

"Dave, he lived a full life, and helped a lot of people. We should be happy that he's finally away from this world," Ororo Munroe told her dearest friend as she put her arm around him.

"I can still remember when I first met Scott," David mumbled as his mind drifted back to that day long ago.

"It's time to get mine," a 13-year-old youth said to himself as he walked down the midnight streets of his home town in the suburbs of Seattle.

The fog of the night prevented him from seeing any great distance as he continued down the lonely road, closely gripping a brick in his right hand.

He came to a stop in front of a pawnshop.

"We'll see who's a mutie when I bust in and get all your stuff,"the boy shouted as he wound back his right arm. He pushed the brick forward with every ounce of his strength. The brick hurled toward the pawnshop's main window, until a blast of light hit it with such power that it evaporated into the fog.

"What the…" the boy exclaimed. He spun around on the heels of his Sketcher sneakers to see who or what was also on the street with him.

"I'd think twice about that if I were you, kid," said a tall man with a visor over his eyes.

"Who the hell are you?"

"I'm your saving grace."

"Huh?"

"If that brick broke the window, you'd be guilty of destruction of property. That's no way to start out your life before it begins."

"How…how…how did you do that?" the boy stammered as he stood motionless, staring at the man before him.

"Well, let's just say, I've been called a mutie many times as well. We'll talk more about that later, but for now let's get you off these streets. This is not the time or place for a kid to walking around by himself," the man said as he put his arm around the boy and led him away.

Dave lifted his head out of his hands and stared out of the window. "And the worst part of it all is that his murderer is still out there."

"It's not like he's free, David. He's in jail for life."

"But Scott is dead, so where is the justice in that?"

"You're starting to sound like you've given up on the dream."

"Wake up, Ororo," Dave said in a slightly elevated tone. "Seventeen X-Men have been killed in the last three years. This wouldn't have happened if we had stopped that kid with gloves and started dishing out some real punishment!"

"What exactly do you have in mind?" Ororo said as she withdrew her arm from around Dave's back.

"John Thorn and people like him deserve the same fate as they give to us."

"So you think we should start killing people?"

"Well not..."

"Once it's started, where will it end? First we kill the ones that we think deserve to die. Then what? We kill people who don't agree with us?" she said, returning his stern tone.

Dave was about to disagree with her, but decided against it and instead sat back silently in his seat for the remainder of the ride home.

Two cars behind Ororo and Dave sat four members of the X-Men Gold team. Driving was Thomas Tollefson, code name Flex. Sitting in the passenger seat was his twin sister Amy Tollefson, code name Vamptress. Sitting directly behind Amy was Jason Gemignani, code name X. Sitting next to him was Sarah Carol, also known as Psi. Amy finally broke the deafening silence.

"It was a nice funeral, don't you guys think?"

"Yeah, but Cyclops wouldn't have wanted us to go through all that trouble just for him," Tom said, trying to break the tension but failing. "So...did David say what they are going to be doing with the Gold team?"

"I asked him about it earlier today, and he said that he needed to talk to Ororo first. Then they will have a meeting in a couple of days to reach a decision," Jay said to Tom but never taking his eyes off Sarah, who was quietly weeping into her jacket.

Jay reached his arm out, put it around Sarah, and pulled her close, letting her cry into his shirt. He rubbed his hand across the small of her back, wordlessly comforting her.

State Side Rivier prison. One week later.

John Thorn sat in his cell and stared off into space. He was taken out of his trance by the sound of an officer's club tapping against the cell door. "Hey Thorn, get your ass up. You have a visitor."

The guard then led Thorn to the visitor's room. "Your visitor is down at room five. You have twenty minutes, so make them count."

John walked down the hallway, until he reached a door with the number five marked on it. He opened the door to find a tall, slender, blonde woman reading a newspaper that blocked her face. John then sat down at the table across from the blonde.

"What can I do for you, gorgeous?" John said with a heavy New York accent.

"Jonathan Thorn, convicted terrorist, murderer, and arsonist," the blonde said, continuing to read the paper that still concealed her face. "You're quite the guy Mr. Thorn. I'm glad that we have this chance to meet and discuss my offer."

"Look, lady, I don't know who you are, but unless your offer is to get me outta here, I'm not interested." John crossed his arms and leaned back in the wooden chair placed inside the containment area.

"Funny you should put it that way," the blonde said, dropping the newspaper to reveal a wicked smile. "You can call me Port or Boss. Either way I'm your new best friend."

"So then, what do you want from me?"

"Well, you already gave me one thing I wanted by putting a bullet in Scott Summers head. Now I just need your help finishing off the rest of the do-gooders," the mysterious woman said without changing her facial expression.

"So what do ya say?"

"Nehh..I guess so. Just get me out of here."

"Fabulous," Port said as she grabbed hold of John's shirt, pulled him close, and kissed him on the lips, causing both of them to disappear.

David Warden stepped out of his private bathroom after finishing his nightly shower. He then walked over to his dresser to get some clothes when a picture frame on top of the dresser caught his eye. He picked the picture up to see the Corsairs, which was the training team he started in. The people in the picture were himself, Cyclops, Agony and Dragonis (who were all dead) Mirage and Shatter (who now works with the Brotherhood of Mutants), and Kevin (He retired from the X-Men after what happened to his team). He remembered how times were so simple and happy in those days. They were a family. Here he is now thirty years later, and his family is gone. David looked at the picture quietly until the television in the background caught his attention.

"This is Jennifer Taylor reporting live from Bayton prison, where it has been reported that refuted terrorist Jonathan Thorn has disappeared. Police are baffled on his escape from the maximum security prison, but they believe that he was aided by this woman."

The screen then flashes to a picture of a woman dressed in blue jeans and a halter top with blue eyes and blonde hair.

"There's no information provided yet on the identity of this woman, but it was reported that she visited John Thorn on the night of his disappearance. The police are looking into this, however at this time there are no possible leads. In other news..."

David let out a fierce roar and smashed his dark-skinned fist against the television screen. He drew back his arm that was dripping with blood from the self-inflicted cuts while looking down at the picture he still held in his hand. "He will be avenged," he said quietly.

A taxi pulled up to 1407 Greymaker Lane. It stopped at the golden gates that led to the massive mansion behind them. The cabbie put the taxi in park, and then turned to the passenger.

"OK, 1407 Greymaker Lane. That'll be $62."

The young blonde in the back seat, who couldn't be more than 15 years old, handed the driver $80 and told him to keep the change. She stepped out, waited for the driver to pop the trunk, then took her suitcases out and stood by the golden gates as the cab drove off.

She took a deep breath and said to herself," You can do this, Becca. You can do this."

Becca went up to the gate and tried the handle, which was unlocked for some reason, allowing her to enter through the gate. Becca walked between large pinewood trees as she continued through the yard. She then passed by a peaceful looking water fountain. The mystic figure of cupid was carved into a statue that had water pumped from his mouth and into a circular water basin, the home for several Koi fish.

Becca walked by and stopped for only a moment to admire the beauty of the Romanesque statue before walking up the five steps to the main entrance. The cedar double doors had a large copper frame around the edges and were large enough for an elephant to enter the mansion. Just as Becca was about the use copper door knocker, which was in the shape of a lion's head, the door creaked open.

Becca hesitated at first, but then decided to tip-toe inside. A grand chandelier was lit up in the entrance way. A ten-foot canvas painting of a soldier on a horse with a sword held high, much like Napoleon, was placed high on the wall. The ceiling came to a curved dome point at its highest expansion of about 50 feet above the marble flooring.

As she stood there gazing at the luxuriousness of the dwelling, which looked like something out of _The Rich and Famous_, she could hear voices down the hall. The curiosity of the mysterious voices made her walk down the hall. The clicking of her high-heel shoes echoed down the hall as she headed towards the room.

When Becca entered the room, she saw about 25 different people who were facing away from her and looking up at the podium were an elderly black woman spoke.

"So, the gold team will be split up between the red and the green teams. Are there any questions?"

Becca saw a brunette raise her hand. The elderly woman nodded to her and said, "Yes, Sarah, what is it?"

"Well, Miss Munroe, I was just wondering what we're going to be doing about John Thorn. I mean, I read in the papers that he escaped from jail. Is one of the X-Men teams going to go after him?"

The elderly black woman seemed to have to think for a minute before she could answer. "Well, Sarah, it's not that easy. The X-Men have been asked to allow the police to handle the matter of John Thorn. As for now, we will leave it in the hands of the authorities."

"But he killed Mr. Summers!" Sarah said, standing up with a frustrated look.

"Trust me, Sarah, no one is more disturbed by that thought than me, but this is not how the X-Men work. We don't hunt people down: we stop crimes when they happen. Now, are there any other questions..."

"THAT'S IT!" a muscular, dark skinned man from the crowd cried out as he approached the podium. "I'm tired of us waiting to be hunted. I've decided to make us the hunters. That is why I am officially forming a new team. This will be a team unlike the X-Men. We will stop the bad guys by any means necessary before they can hurt again. I just need a few volunteers."

The man then looked over the faces in front of him, waiting for someone to volunteer. He lowered his head in defeat, but all of a sudden he heard a voice yell, "Count me in."

Becca and the man looked to see who the voice belonged to. It was the brunette girl who had spoken earlier. "So will I," a black haired, well-built, young man said as he stood up next to the brunette. He glanced down at another young man with glasses who was sitting next to him.

"Alright, alright, I'm in too," the young man with glasses said.

"Me too," Becca yelled out even before she realized what she was saying.

The elderly black woman then interrupted. "Enough of all of this, David, come with me. We need to talk." The elderly black woman then walked out of the room with the man who had started up trouble.

"What is the meaning of this, David?" Ororo asked, obviously angry.

"I can't do it anymore, Storm. I can't keep waiting for the next super villain to strike us. I'm forming a team to do things in a new style."

"This is not how the professor would want us to do things."

"How do you know?" Renegade said angrily." He's dead. So are Cyclops, Jean, Beast, Rouge, and countless other X-Men. Obviously we're doing something wrong, so why not try this way?"

"Even if you decide to do this, where are you going to go? And how are you going to run a team with only four people?"

"First off, I already have a house in upstate New York that I can use for a base and training center. Also, I have used Cerbro to find other mutants that I will recruit."

Storm hung her head, not knowing what to say. Finally she said something she knew she would regret later.

"Obviously, I can't talk you out of this, so if I hear that you break as much as one law, I will hunt you and your team down personally. All X-Men will then stop at nothing to bring you and your little group to justice." Storm then turned away from her former partner. "Now get out of my school."

"Are you freaking nuts?" Amy Tollefson asked her twin brother as the two ate dinner at the local mom and pops owned restaurant. "How can you turn your back on the X-Men?"

"Amy, how can you not want to join us? The man who killed our teacher and leader is walking around out there free, and you just want to sit there and let it happen?"

"Of course not, Thomas, but that's not the way X-Men do things. We don't hunt people down."

"No, we put them in jail. Then they are let go and come to kill us."

"That's still not the right thing to do," Amy said. She dropped her utensils and crossed her arms.

"Yeah, try telling that to Scott Summers," Tom lashed out as he stabbed his fork into a lettuce leaf in the salad bowl.

"Thomas, have some respect for the dead."

Amy's head was stooped down towards her soup bowl, but her eyes veered their glace upwards in the direction of her twin.

"You should have some respect for the living."

"You're the one talking about killing people."

"Amy, I'm talking about killing only the bad people," Tom said with a sigh. "I would never suggest killing the innocent."

"Killing is always wrong. Don't you remember all the lessons we learned as kids?"

"Senseless killing is wrong, but it's the right thing to do if you're saving the lives of yourself or those around you. Come with me. Let's continue working together to make the world a better place."

"You know where my loyalties lie."

"Come on, please come with me. I need you," Tom pleaded with tears welling in his eyes.

Amy finished the last bit of her soup and stood up from the table. Tom did the same.

"I'm sorry, and I wish you luck," Amy said as she embraced her dearest friend, then departed into the night.

The blonde led Jonathan Thorn down the stairwell as the song "Holler If You Hear Me" by Tupac blared loudly. John looked around the room and saw five figures working out in various ways. The first man was using a bench press, stood seven feet tall, and weighed a solid 600 pounds of muscle. In the middle of the room was a ring where a thin Latino woman and a tall black man with dread locks were sparring. The fourth figure was performing some sort of karate fighting style in the left corner. Lastly, a woman standing off into the shadows was throwing what looked like darts into a dartboard.

"Everybody listen up," Port tried to yell over the music.

No one even flinched. Port snatched the boom box and slammed it against the wall, causing it to explode and shatter into countless pieces. All five figures immediately looked up at Port.

"Wild Pack, fall in."

All five figures then gathered in a neatly formed line in front of John and Port.

"John, let me proudly introduce you to the wild pack," Port said as she approach the Latino girl. "This lovely lady is named Maria Santana, code-name Acid Fire. She has a nasty habit of well... Maria, why don't you show our guest what you can do."

Maria put her hand on the closest wall, rubbed it in a quick circle and pulled it away. At first it looked like nothing and happened. Suddenly the wall started to sizzle and the part where Maria had put her hand dissolved into nothing but a hole in the wall.

Port walked towards the next person, who was the seven-foot behemoth of man. "This is Christopher Golden. He is the muscle of the group as you can tell which is why we call him Knockout."

Knockout then let out an earth-shaking roar and threw a power punch into the brick wall that brought down the entire wall.

"I'll have to get someone to fix the wall again," Port said with a sigh as she continued to the next member.

"The next contestant is White Ninja. We don't really know his real name, but he can turn invisible. Pretty nifty power don't you think?" Port inquired.

"Yeah great," John mumbled, as he followed Port toward the next figure who was the black man with dread locks.

"This is Ron. He's not a mutant, but he is handy with a firearm."

Ron then opened up his hands as two black revolvers appeared as if out of nowhere and shot three holes in the middle of an empty beer can across the room. He then put them away as mysteriously as they appeared.

"We call him Quick Shot," Port said. "And lastly, but certainly not least, we have Jessica Simon, a.k.a. Thorn."

"How's it going sexy?" John asked as he reached out to shake her hand.

Right as she reached her hand out, Port grabbed John's hand, and pulled it away. "I wouldn't do that if I were you. Thorn has spikes that come out of her skin. They are unseen by the human eye, but can paralyze you for about a minute if you are pricked by them. She can also shoot them out of her hands. Impressive bunch don't you think?" Port questioned with a smile.

As the X-J700 series Blackbird jet cut through the night skies, the newly formed team sat inside the jet talking. The talking stopped once Dave Warden sat down at the table.

"I'm sure you'll have questions and concerns, so instead of keeping them to yourselves, ask me."

Jay spoke up first. "Not to be rude or anything, Dave, but how are we going to take on the world with a team of only four members?"

"Not to worry, Cerbro has found a few other mutants that we can try to recruit for our team. Any other concerns?"

"What about a place to stay?" Tom asked.

"I have that are covered too. Xavier bought a mansion before he died, and it sits unused in upstate New York. It has the same features that the old one had including weapons, a danger room, vehicles, and our very own Cerbro. Before we get to the mansion, we will go to recruit these mutants. Jay and Tom, I want you to recruit these two. They live in different parts of New York City but I used Cerbro to get there locations so you shouldn't have trouble finding them Becca and Sarah, I will drop you off in Florida so you can try to recruit this one." David handed them the information. "Any other questions?"

"Ya," Becca, who up till now has been silent, said. "What will we be called?"

"Well, once we recruit all of the members I will come up with code name. Up till now I'm not too.." David started, but Becca cut him off.

"No, I mean what's the team called?"

"Oh, it will be called Neo-X."

"Cool," Becca said.

- - - - - END of Issue One. -


	2. NeoX 2

12

Brandon Clark entered Hell's Kitchen as he does every night, scanning the crowd in his usual paranoid manner. When he realized it was safe to, he approached the bartender, who had his back to the room.

"Hey, who does a guy have to kill to get a beer around here?"

"Hey, Viper," the bartender said turning around with a big smile on his face and a beer in his hand. He handed the beer to Brandon. "Hey there are two guys looking for you."

Viper quickly tensed up. "Where are they?"

"Sitting over in the corner. Want me to toss them out?"

Viper looked over to where T-ray was pointing. There were two men who looked to be in about their early 20's sitting in the corner.

"I'll care of 'em," Viper said as he placed his beer down and crossed the dance floor, keeping his eyes on the two young men. He approach the like a professional.

"Gentlemen can help you?"

One of the men wearing glasses stood up. "Mr. Clark I presume." Thomas Tollefson extended his hand.

"Call me Viper," Viper said, shaking Tom's hand.

"My name is Thomas Tollefson and this is Jason Gemignani." Jason nodded in acknowledgment, but let his partner do all the talking. "We are both part of a new team called Neo-X, and we are here to offer you an opportunity to join."

"What does the job pay?"

"I'm afraid you misunderstood me. It's not a paying job. It's more like a fight-the-good-fight type thing."

Viper started to laugh. "You want me to fight for free? You must be out of your minds!"

"Well we would offer room and bro..."

"Forget it, Tom," Jay said standing up. "We're wasting our time! He obviously only cares about himself."

Viper laughed even harder. "I'm a bounty hunter dumbass look it up."

Port swept her gaze over the small group she had assembled. Her long lashes flickered as she blinked and stopped in front of them, nailing their attention with an authoritative stare.

"I'm glad you decide to join me," she began. "Now that we've been assembled, it's time to lay down the rules: what I say goes. Once you're in, there's no out. What you find, you keep. We never abandon each other unless it's under my orders."

Her eyes became especially piercing. "And most of all, we Have Fun." Her voice was slow and measured. "We act like vandals till we get the do-gooders' attention and have fun doing it. Got it?" Positive affirmations reached her ears. Port smiled and her eyes danced.

"Good."

Jill Lopear tried to juggle her four grocery bags and get her keys out of her purse. She finally managed to unlock the door. She trudged towards the elevator just to see a torn piece of paper with the words "out of order" written in pen. She sighed and started her up the five flights of stairs. When Jill was on the fifth flight she heard the shrill squealing of an alarm. She started to run up the stairs, dropping her groceries on the floor. She reached apartment 563 and opened the door to see a young brunette girl fanning black smoke out of an open window. Jill's mouth dropped into a frown at the smoky scene. Her younger cousin, Maro Bush, looked up from where she stood at the kitchen counter with wide eyes.

"I'm sorry, Jill, it happened again."

"It's ok, hun. Come, help me with the groceries," Jill said a she grabbed a broom and smacked the smoke detector till it stopped.

The girls went out and picked up the food off the floor in the hallway, then went back in and started putting away the groceries.

Maro glanced at the clock in the wall. "Oh, damn, I have to go to work!" she shrieked, running into her room. Jill rolled her eyes and finished putting away the food.

As she finished, there was a knock on the door. "Oh great, most likely the cops or worse, the landlord." Jill thought as she opened the door. To her relief it was her boyfriend, Tim Wadeson.

"Hey, Babe," Tim said with a smile. "I heard the alarm. Are you two ok?"

Jill embraced Tim. "Oh ya, Maro accidentally burned something on the stove."

Tim and Jill walked over to the couch and started kissing.

"Ewwww!" Maro said when she came out of her room. "Tim, can you guys please wait till I'm gone to do that?" Maro said as she put on her shoes.

"Grow up, Maro," Tim said as she was walking out the door.

Just as Maro's taxi was leaving, Jay and Al's taxi pulled up.

"Damn!" Tom shouted, looking at a small computer device.

"What?" Jay asked as they stepped out of the taxi.

"We just missed her. According to Cerbro, she's on her way downtown, most likely off to work.

David's file says she works in a bar called Roadhouse."

"Sounds like a classy joint. Let's go," Jay insisted as he hailed another taxi.

Maro pushed the back door to the Roadhouse open. She hurried over to her locker to grab her apron and bandanna. She turned and ran right into a fat, greasy man wearing ripped blue jeans and a stained wife beater.

"You're late, sweet cheeks. Happens again and you're fired."

"Yes, Sir," Maro said as she slipped her apron on as boss waddled back into the kitchen.

Maro opened the door that lead to the back of the bar. She saw George the bartender, Nikki, and other waitresses.

Nikki smiled when she saw Maro. "I'm so glad you're here! Will you do me a favor?"

Maro sighed. "Let me guess…you need to go and you need me to cover your tables."

"Pleeeeeeeeeease? I will owe you so big. I've got a big date tonight."

"Yeah, okay."

"Thank you, Maro, you're the best!" Nikki yelled rushing off.

George looked at Maro. "You're too nice sometimes."

"I know, I know. So what does she have?"

"Table 13. They're a bunch of drunks, and to boot they're part of that bigot group FOH."

"What's FOH?"

"Are you for real?"

"Come on, tell me!"

"Friends of Humanity. Some group destined to get rid of mutants."

"Oh Joy," Maro uttered sarcastically as she walked over to the table.

"Hi guys. My name is Maro, and I'll be your waitress for the rest of your visit."

"Hey baby, you're hot!" one of the guys yelled.

"God, this is going to be a long night," Maro thought as she put on a fake smile.

"That will be 10 bucks unless you're a member," a large man with the bald head a long goatee said to Jay and Tom. Jay glanced at Tom, then back at the bouncer.

"A member of what? The Roadhouse elite?" Jay said with a smile. The bouncer didn't show any sign of being amused. "If you're a member of Friends of Humanity," he said, "you get in free."

Jay's smile quickly faded. He pulled out his wallet and handed the bouncer a $20 bill. Tom and Jay both entered the crowded bar.

"Let's do this quickly. I don't really like being in a bar with a bunch of FOH members," Tom said, pulling out a folded up piece of paper. "According to Cerbro, she's 5'8, 140 pounds, and has brown hair with blue eyes."

"You can go and ask around. I'll get us a table and some drinks."

Tom was taken back a bit. "Wait, you want to chill in a place filled with FOH members?"

"Tom, you've got to live a little," Jay said, walking onto the crowed dance floor. When he reached the other end he saw a table of five guys talking loudly about killing mutants. He took a seat at a table a few feet away and glanced around the room at the different faces.

The song Scandalous by Mis-Teeq came on, and as if on cue, a beautiful woman walked into view. It was as if time slowed down. Jay couldn't take his eyes off of her.

"Sir...Sir..." a voice said, breaking him out of his trance. He looked up to see the waitress, the beautiful woman he was looking at, standing in front of him.

"Hi, what can I get you?" the waitress asked smiling a sweet smile.

"Um...ya." Jay said, shaking his head to focus. "Two cokes."

"You got it," she said, and smiled at him again.

"Hey, babe, come herrre," a slurred voice said from behind her. She rolled her eyes as she walked from Jay to the guy at the next table. Jay went back to scanning the crowd.

Tom sat down across from him. "So what did she say?" Jay looked at Tom like he had three heads.

"What the hell are you talking about? The waitress?"

"Ya, the waitress."

"She took my order."

"Ok, we both are on the same page, right?"

"Tom, you lost me. Did you want to order something?"

"Jay, the waitress is named Maro Bush, the same name as the girl we're here to talk to. God, how did you make it into the X-Men?"

"Oh ok. I haven't talked to her yet." Jay looked over to where Maro was doing her best to be nice to the rowdy drunk men.

"So, will that be all?" Maro asked, hoping to leave this table.

"Well," a guy wearing a cowboy hat said as he stood up. "You see, Eric here beat down his first mutant today, so we're wondering if you'd give 'em a lap dance." As he said this, he walked closer to Maro, so close she could smell the whiskey on his breath.

"I'm sorry guys, that won't be happening," Maro said, taking a step back from the guy, who then got angry and grabbed Maro's arm.

"I wasn't really asking." He pushed Maro toward Eric.

Jay got up. "What are you doing?" Tom asked.

"Just going over to find out where our drinks are."

Tom sighed. "Just please keep it low-key."

All Jay did was smile. Before the guy in the cowboy hat could blink, Jay was at his side.

"Can I hellllllp yoooou?" the guy asked.

"Well for starters you could pop a tic-tac. Next, you could pay your bill and leave a really big tip for this nice lady. And lastly, you can take yourself and your dumbass bigot friends out of here."

The guy started to laugh, but was interrupted by Eric yelling. Jay and the guy looked over at Eric. His shirt was burned and Maro was standing in front of him with glowing hands.

"She's a freaking mutant, Dan!" yelled one of the guys at the table.

Dan looked back over to Jay. "You might wanna go. This is gonna get ugly." Then he turned back to Maro. "Let me see the little mutie."

Eric and another guy grabbed Maro's arms and pushed her towards Dan. Dan pulled a knife out. As soon as Jay saw the knife he used his magnetic powers to pull it out of Dan's hand.

Dan and the rest of the guys' eyes followed the knife as it floated in thin air and landed in the palm of Jay's hand. Maro used this distraction to get away from Eric and the other man, and then hid behind Jay.

"See, boys, mutants really do travel in packs," Dan said, as all four guys filled in behind him.

Tom jumped out of his seat and got in between Jay and Dan. "Look, there doesn't have to be an issue here, so lets just all walk away."

"Don't think so freak," Dan said, hitting Tom across his face.

"Hey!" Jay yelled, using his power to push all five guys to the ground.

Dan was the first up, and he swung at Jay. Jay ducked back and pushed Dan to the dance floor.

Dan stumbled forward to the jukebox, crashing into it causing the music to stop. The other four guys stood up ready to fight.

Flex, who was just getting back up from being hit, jumped into the air and kicked two of the guys in the face.

X then threw the other two against a wall with his powers. He turned to Tom. "Take her out of here!"

Tom led Maro by the hand.

"What are you gonna do?" Tom asked as he and Maro headed toward the door.

"Teach a lesson," Jay said as he lifted the fallen knife off the floor with his powers and walked over to Dan, who was trying to get to his feet. Dan looked up at Jay.

"Wh..what the hell do you want?"

"I want you to remember I could kill you right now," X said as he made the knife float over to Dan's face.

"But I'm not going to." Then with a quick hand motion the knife carved an "X" in Dan's cheek and dropped him to the floor.


	3. NeoX 3

1CH3

Jay exited the Roadhouse. Thomas and Maro were waiting for him outside.

"Well that was low-key, Jay," Tom said with a smile. Then he turned back to Maro.

"Maro, do you have somewhere we can go to talk?"

"Wait, how do you know my name?" Maro asked, backing away from them slowly.

"It's ok," Jay said approaching her with caution: he could tell she was scared. "We're not here to hurt you." Maro looked into Jay's piercing blue eyes.

"Ok," she said as she walked back over to Jay.

Maro opened the door to the apartment she shared with her cousin to see find it was empty. She then remembered that Jill had class tonight, so she let Tom and Jay in, and they all sat down at the kitchen table in a silence that seemed to last forever.

Maro sat cross-legged with her left leg under her right leg, which was rotating about like a propeller on a small plane. Her eyes were glued to the clock above where Jay and Tom sat at the table, though she couldn't help but to glance into Jay's blue eyes every so often. Tom's eyes darted about all over the room as he sat slouched in the hand carved wooden chair next to Jay.

"Can I get you guys anything?" Maro asked, finally breaking the awkward silence.

"No thanks," Tom said. Jay shook his head.

"Ok then, do you guys wanna tell me what's up?"

"We are from a new group called Neo-X..." Tom began.

"Is that like the X-Men?"

"Ya, kinda. Anyway we are recruiting others to join our team, and we were hoping you'd be one of them."

"Why me?"

"Well," Tom said, pushing his glasses up his nose a bit and taking out a piece of paper.

"According to this, your mutant powers rate at an omega level."

"What?"

"Um.." Tom was struggling to find the right words. Before he could, Maro stood up and began to yell.

"I AM NOT A MUTANT! I CANT BE A MUTANT!" Maro ran from the table to her room, slamming the door behind her.

"Well that didn't go well," Tom said, standing up to leave.

"Wait, Tom, go call David. I'm gonna try talking to her."

Jay cautiously headed to Maro's room, not quite sure what to say.

"Bout time you say something."

Jay ignored Tom and knocked on the door that Maro slammed shut. He could hear Maro crying.

"Maro..." He said softly while lightly rapping on the door. "Maro, can I come in?"

"Ya." He heard a soft reply.

Jay entered the room. Maro was sitting on her bed with her face buried in her hands. Jay took a seat at a chair a few feet away from where Maro sat on her bed.

"I know this is hard for yo..."

"When I was ten my parents died," Maro said looking up at Jay "and I had to go live with my aunt and uncle. Everyone at school knew about it, and they treated me differently 'cause I was the poor little orphan girl. All I wanted was to be normal and to have a normal life."

"You still can have a normal life. I know a lot of mutants who live normal lives."

"How can I be normal when I set fire to things and have my hands glow whenever they feel like it?"

"Well for starters, we can help you train in your powers. There is the Xavier school for the gifted if you just want to learn to use your powers."

"So why do you do it?"

"Do what?"

"Why don't you just stay at that school instead of going out there and fighting bad guys?"

"'Cause I feel as though I was given these powers for a reason, and that reason is to help people."

"Do you still feel normal?"

"As normal as a mutant who can control metal," Jay said with a sheepish grin.

Maro laughed and smiled at Jay. "Ok I'll do it."

Maro and Jay stand up, and she hugs him. "Thank you."

Seattle WA

David Warden stepped off at the top floor of Sevigny Enterprises and approached the woman behind the desk.

"Hi, how may I help you?" the secretary asks as she looks up to see David.

"Yes, hi. My name is David Warden, I'm here to see Mr. Sevigny."

"Oh, just a moment." The secretary picked up the phone. "Mr. Sevigny, there is a David Warden here to see you." The secretary paused for a moment as Mr. Sevigny spoke. "Ok sir." She hung up the phone and looked back at David. "He is in a meeting, but it's almost over, so take a seat and he'll be with you shortly."

"Not a problem." David walked over to the large window that overlooked the towering buildings and busy streets of Seattle. As he stared out of it, his cell phone began to ring.

"Hello?"

"Hey, David, it's Thomas."

"What's up Tom?"

"We talked to Mister Clark, and he told us 'no.'"

"I figured he would say that. From his file, he didn't seem like much of a team player. What about Maro?"

"Well, she didn't handle the news of being a mutant too well."

"Not too many people do. Did she say no?"

"Well, she did, but Jay thinks he can get her to change her mind. I'm not so sure..." Tom stopped talking, and David could hear Jay's voice in the background stating that Maro is going to join. "Ok, I guess she is going to join."

"I'm glad to hear that."

"Mr. Warden?" the secretary called over to David.

"I need to go. Meet me in Boston." David hung up the phone and headed into the office. He could see Adam Sevigny sitting behind his desk typing something onto a computer. Adam looked up to see David standing in front of him.

"It's really good to see you again, David," Adam stated, standing up and shaking David's hand.

"Likewise, Adam," Dave replied.

"Please, take a seat." Adam motioned for David to sit in one of the two guest chairs in his office.

"Thank you. How's the business going?"

"Sevigny Enterprises have been making out," Adam stated. "It can be a bit difficult when I've gotta compete with Inertech and Taz Corp. What about you? Are you still part of the X-Men?"

"No, I've actually moved into Xavier's old mansion in New York," Dave explained, "and I'm starting a new team called Neo-X."

"Neo-X, super heroes elite, eh?"

"Something like that," David replied. "So, Adam, I'll get straight to the point. I have read all about your daughter's abilities and..."

"How did you find out about them?"

"We have Cerbro, remember? It can track down any mutant on the earth. Anyway, I came to you first out of respect for you and all the things you have done for the Xavier's school."

"Look, David, to be honest with you, all the things I've done for that school was my wife's idea. She felt bad for your kind."

"My kind? You mean mutants?"

"Yes."

"Adam, I am afraid you don't understand. You have a daughter with extraordinary gifts. Why would you not want her to use them to help people?"

"Because I don't need the shame. Do you know what it would do to my reputation if people were to find out I have a mutant for a daughter?"

"I must say, Mr. Sevigny, I am shocked to hear you say that. However, she is eighteen and it is her choice."

"That's right!" a voice shouted out from behind David and Adam. They both turned to see Alyson standing before them. "I am eighteen, so why am I not in on a conversation that involves me?"

"Alyson, what are you doing here?" her father asked, in shock that his daughter had heard everything he just said.

"I came here for lunch, remember? We do it once a month so you can try to be some sort of father. Now is someone going to answer my question?"

"Miss Sevigny, my name is David Warden. I am starting a new team, and I was hoping I could count you in."

"I would be happy to join."

"No, I forbid it!" Adam demanded, trying to reclaim some authority, but it didn't help.

"YOU CAN KISS YOUR TRUST FUND GOOD-BYE, AND YOU'RE CUT OUT OF THE WILL!" Adam screamed as his daughter and David walked out of his office.

When they stepped into the elevator David reached out his hand. "Welcome to Neo-X."

"Thank you," Alyson said, shaking his hand.

Miami FL

The yellow taxicab pulled up to Jefferson High School and two girls got out. One was Sarah Carol and the other was Becca Tarson.

The crowds were divided into groups. On one side of the hall the varsity jacket-clad football players were gathered around talking about the highlights from Friday night's game. On the other side, a group of students clad in black garb and hair dyed black as night gathered around reading their poems of suicide.

"Wow," Sarah said as they pushed their way through the sea of teenagers.

"What?"

"The boys around here have some dirty minds."

"They're high school boys, what do you expect? Besides, you're telling me that the guys at the Xavier's school don't think the same way?"

"Oh they do, but most of them at least try not to because they know that there are a few people with telepathy around."

The two girls entered the main office and went up to the man behind the desk. "Hi, I was hoping if you could page a student for me."

The man looked the two over before saying anything. "What student are you looking for?"

"We're looking for Keith Lambert."

"So are we," a voice says from behind Sarah and Becca. They turn to see two policemen. Sarah glanced at the paper one of the policemen was holding. It had a picture of Keith on it and it stated that he was wanted for murder. "Now what do you want to know about Keith Lambert?"


	4. NeoX 4

14

Eighteen months ago.

"Keith."

"..."

"Keith."

"..."

"KEITH LAMBERT, YOU GET YOUR BUTT OUT OF BED RIGHT NOW!" Keith's mom yelled upstairs, and then went back to her house work. A few minutes went by, and she got ready to yell upstairs again, but when she got to the bottom of the stairs she saw Keith coming down.

"What took you so long?" she asked as she followed him into the kitchen.

"Sorry, mom," he mumbled, sitting at the kitchen table. "I'm not really feeling well today. Can I stay home?"

His mother looked at him as he did his best to look sick. "Nice try, mister. You're not going to miss any more school."

"But, mom..."

"Don't 'but mom' me. Now go before you miss your bus."

"Fine."

Keith grabbed his bag and ran out the door.

Keith waited with his head buried in a comic book. His one joy was to get lost in other people's lives: people like Batman and Superman. They were cool, and no one picked on them. When the bus pulled up in front of Keith he put his comic in his pocket and let out a sigh as he stepped up the stairs. As soon as he turned to face the bus full of kids he heard people talking amongst themselves.

"Hey, look, it's geek boy," he heard someone yell, and everyone on the bus started to laugh at him. Keith was used to this by now. He continued to walk down the aisle passing many seats that had only one person in them, but no one would let him sit with them. He finally found an empty one. He sat down, pulled back out his comic book, and began to lose himself in one of Batman's adventures. Suddenly, someone behind him ripped the comic from his hands. He turned to see Gary and Dan, the guys that have beaten him up and picked on him since the first grade.

"Hey, geek boy, what's this?" Dan said, looking at the comic book.

"It's for people that know how to read, now give it back," Keith said, reaching for the comic.

Dan pulled it out of his reach. "Was that supposed to be funny?"

"I think he made fun of you," Gary said, flicking Keith's ear.

"Is that true, geek boy? Are you trying to make fun of me?"

"Just, please, give me my comic back."

"Your comic? What are you, ten?" Gary said, causing everyone around them to laugh.

"You're such a loser!" Dan laughed, ripping the comic in half and throwing it at Keith. Everyone laughed again.

As soon as the bus pulled into the school, Keith rushed off. He went to go find his only friend, Peter, who could always be found in the library. This is where Keith found him.

"Hey," Keith said, sitting at the table with Peter.

"Hey, what's up?"

"Not much. I owe you a new Batman. Those jerks on the bus ripped up the one you let me borrow."

"Man, I hate those guys."

"Yeah, me too, and there they are," Keith said as he nodded in the direction of their table.

"Well, they seem satisfied just staying over there for now,"

"Yeah," Keith said as he stared at the petite girl with long blonde hair, who Gary had his arm around at their lunch table.

"Dude, don't stare! You don't want to start anything," Peter warned.

"Ok." Keith turned around, but still gazed at Lisa out of the corner of his eye.

"What is it with her? You've had a crush on her as long as I can remember."

"She's beautiful, man! She's also just got an awesome personality."

"How would you know? You've only had like three or four conversations with her over all these years."

"Yeah, but they were great," Keith said as he zoned out while drinking his milk.

"Anyway, I had an idea on how to get out of here," Peter whispered over the table.

"How?"

"All you need to do is break one of the school rules."

"Like what, not hand in my homework?"

"Dude, that will only get you like detention. I'm taking about getting expelled."

"What would I have to do?"

"Pull the fire alarm."

"I don't know. My parents would kill me."

"Well, it's your call, but you asked me to come up with a way to get you out of here," Peter said, standing up.

"I know, man, and thank you."

"I'm out. I'll see you at lunch."

"Ok, bye Pete."

All day long Keith was weighing the pros and cons of being kicked out of school. The biggest thing stopping him was what his mom and dad would do to him. He was still debating we he got to the cafeteria. He got his lunch and sat at the table that he and Peter always sat at. Peter was already sitting there. He sat down across from his friend.

"Oh look! Geek boy's having lunch with his boyfriend," Dan said as he, Gary, and Lisa approached their table.

Keith couldn't resist the urge to talk to Lisa, who was looking especially beautiful in her blue sundress and high heels that day.

"Hi..Lisa," he stammered with a goofy grin.

Lisa waved a few fingers then rolled her eyes and strolled off, leaving Keith with only the sound of her high heels clicking against the floor as she walked to the door of the cafeteria.

"You know, I think it's so romantic that these two losers have each other," Gary said with a laugh. By now everyone was paying attention to what was going on.

Keith knew if he kept his mouth shut, they would go away, but Gary was fed up with it.

"Wow, 'romantic'. That's a big word for you huh, Gary?" A few people snickered.

"Ah, shut up," Gary said, dumping Peter's tray into his lap.

Keith was shocked at what happened next. Peter stood up and tried to walk away, but Gary cornered him against a wall.

"You gonna say sorry?" Gary asked, towering over Peter. "Well?"

"Hey, Gary, I think he's gonna cry."

Peter tried to walk away, but Gary pushed him against the wall.

"LEAVE ME ALONE!" Peter yelled, hitting Gary across the face. It was like a typical movie scene when the weaker character hits the stronger one and the stronger one doesn't even flinch.

Gary rubbed his cheek. "That was a mistake." Gary hit Peter hard in the stomach and pushed him to the floor. Keith got up to help his friend but a crowd quickly formed around the two boys, and Keith was too weak to get through. He looked around to see if any teachers were going to help, but none could be seen. Then he saw the answer in the form of the alarm box. He ran over and pulled the handle to the fire alarm. The sprinklers turned on, and everyone ran outside. Keith turned to leave but ran right into a teacher.

Jennifer and Ed Lambert entered the principal's office, where Keith and the principal, Mr. Dante, were waiting.

"Mr. and Mrs. Lambert, thank you very much for coming in," Mr. Dante said as the Lamberts sat down. "I wish we could be meeting under better terms, but sadly we aren't today. At lunch Keith pulled a false alarm, causing quiet a bit of chaos. Normally this would call for him to be kicked out of school, but in Keith's case he is a great student, so what I'm going to do is suspend him from school for the remainder of the year. I will, however, send his schoolwork to you each week so he can still finish the eleventh grade. That way, he can come back and finish his last year here. How does that sound?"

"But I thought I was going to get expelled?" Keith said, obviously disappointed by this news.

"That sounds very fair. Thank you very much, Mr. Dante." Mrs. Lambert then got up to leave and motioned for Keith to follow. "Come on, Keith, let's go."

For the whole ride home Keith's parents took turns yelling at him, but Keith wasn't listening one bit. In his mind, he just got released from his own private hell, and whatever kind of punishment his parents could come up with would be fine by him.

Four months later.

Keith finished his schoolwork for the day and went to his backyard. He had a fort that his dad built for him when he was a kid. He always went up there to read his comic and get away from his parents.

He was in the middle of Batman fighting the Joker when the door to his fort opened and in walked Peter, who was trying to hide his face from Keith.

"Hey, are you ok?"

"Ya, I'm fine." Peter shielded his face with the comic book he grabbed from Keith's foot high stack.

"Dude, what happened to your face?"

"Nothing."

"Bull," Keith said, stepping around Peter to see that he had a black eye.

"Dan or Gary?"

"Dan."

"Damn it, those morons!" Keith said, punching the wall so hard his fist went straight through.

"Wow!" Peter exclaimed as Keith just stared down at his fist.

Later that night at dinner

"Mom, I know you're still a little angry with me, but I got a question for you," Keith asked while sitting down to eat dinner.

"Go ahead."

"Well…I've been doing some thinking, and I was wondering if I could get a punching bag and some weights."

"Why would you want that?" His mom replied as she raised her eyebrow.

"Well, I'd like to get in better shape, and maybe even try playing sports."

"You know, Jenna, sports would be good for the boy," Mr. Lambert said while eating his bowl of soup.

"Come on, mom, what do you say?"

"Are you sure you think we should get it for him, Ed?"

"Yeah, I was working out when I was his age."

"Ok, Keith, your father can take you tomorrow to the store to pick out a good set of weights and a punching bag."

"Cool, thanks mom," Keith said as he got up to hug his mom.

Ten months later

"Keith."

"..."

"Keith."

"..."

"KEITH LAMBERT, YOU GET YOUR BUTT OUT OF BED RIGHT NOW!" Keith's mom yelled up stairs. Before she could turn around Keith was at her side. "Oh, you scared me."

"Sorry, mom," Keith said, kissing his mother on the cheek. He sat down to eat breakfast just as his father entered the kitchen.

"Did you tell him?" his father asked his mother.

"No, I thought I'd wait till you were here."

"Tell me what?"

"Well, we were thinking in the spirit of starting things over, we decided that you shouldn't take the bus anymore," his father said with a smile.

"Oh, god, you guys aren't gonna drive me to school are you? 'Cause I'd really rather take the bus."

"No, no, no, we're just very proud that you have been able to stay on track with your schoolwork and we know the reason you got in shape is to make a new image for yourself, so we thought we'd help you with that."

His mother smiled and pulled out a key, handing it to Keith. He just stood there, grinning.

Dan and Gary stepped out of Gary's car and headed toward the school.

"This year is gonna be a blast." Gary said.

"Ya, this is it! We're seniors now; and that means we rule this school," Dan said, slapping Gary's hand. The two approached a redhead and a blonde. "Hey baby," Dan said as he kissed his girlfriend, the redhead named April.

"Hey Lisa," Gary said, standing close to the blonde.

"Ya, hi. April, I've got to go. I'll see you in Trig," Lisa said as she started to walk off.

"Damn what's up, April? She won't even give Gary the time of day."

"Sorry, sweetie, she's not interested."

Dan started to laugh. "Burn! Hahaha." The three turned to head into school when out of nowhere, a red ford Mustang convertible passed them and pulled into a parking spot. Out stepped a tall, very well-built young man. He walked by Dan, April, and Gary and headed right up to Lisa.

"Hi."

"Hey."

Lisa smiled, and gently tossed her long blonde hair back, then took a quick look up and down at the Keith's now muscle-bound body.

"I just wanted to tell you that you're beautiful," the young man said, and then began to walk into the school.

Lisa was taken back by the comment. "Wait, what's your name?"

"My name's Keith."

Dan, April, and Gary approached Lisa. "Who was that?" Dan asked.

"He said his name's Keith."

"Wait a minute, that's geek boy?" Gary asked.

"Trust me, Gary, there was nothing geeky about that guy," Lisa said as she and April walked away.

Once the girls were out of earshot, Dan started ranting. "So, geek boy is back. Just like old times."

Six months later

Keith strolled down the halls of his high school. People that he didn't even know greeted him as he passed by.

"Dude," said Peter, who was at Keith's side. "This is so cool. You have gone from like zero to cool in just six months."

"Oh come on, Pete. I think you're being a bit overdramatic..."

"Hey, Keith," Lisa said as she approached Keith and Peter.

"Ummm h-h-hey Lisa," was all Keith was able to stumble out.

"Hey, I don't know if you heard but the Sadie Hawkins dance is in a few days and um...I was wondering if you have a girl to go with yet."

Despite all the effort Keith put into being bolder, he still got tongue tied around girls. The silence was beginning to become uncomfortable.

"If you have a date already that's fine."

"No...I mean not 'no' as if I'm not interested...'no' as in ummm... that I don't..."

"He would love to go with you," Peter cut in, so to save his friend any further embarrassment.

"Really?" Lisa said with a big smile. All Keith could do was nod. "Ok." Lisa took out a pen, took Keith's hand, and began to write on it. "This is my address and my cell number. The dance is at eight so if you can, pick me up at seven."

"Ok."

"Bye for now, handsome," Lisa said, giving Keith a quick kiss on the cheek before rushing off to get to class.

"Wow! That was both one of the coolest and most embarrassing things I've seen you go through," Peter said, trying to hide his laughter.

Keith didn't even hear his friend; he just kept staring at his hand.

Dan and Gary were standing a little ways away from Keith and Peter. "Did you see that?" Dan asked, hitting Gary in the arm.

"Ya, so?"

"She was totally hitting on him."

"Ya, well he'll get his."

Three days later.

Keith had never been as happy in his whole life. He was on the dance floor with a girl he'd had a crush on since the third grade dancing to the song "I Swear." She had her head on his shoulder and her arms wrapped around him.

Sitting at a table staring intensely at Keith and Lisa was Gary. He was pissed. "This is so messed up!" Gary stated, taking a big swig of Jack Daniels from the flask Dan snuck in. Then he passed it back to Dan.

"I know, dude," Dan said taking a drink as well.

"Come on, Dan, I wanna dance," April pleaded, pulling on Dan's arm.

"Hey, can you see I'm busy here? Why don't you go get me a drink?" Dan snapped at April, pulling his arm away.

"Ya know what, Dan? You're a real jerk when you're drunk." April got up and walked over to the table Peter was sitting at.

"Hey, Pete, do you wanna dance?" April smoothed her dress.

"With you?" Peter asked, a bit confused by the question.

"Ya."

"Ok." Peter stood up and lead April out onto the dance floor.

"Ok, that's it." Dan stood up and headed to the dance floor. Gary followed close behind. Dan marched onto the dance floor, grabbed Peter by the back of the head, and threw him to the floor.

"What makes you think you can put your hands on my girlfriend?" Dan yelled as he kicked Peter in the stomach. Dan raised his fist to punch Peter across the face. Right before his fist connected, someone grabbed his arm and pushed him back. Dan looked up to see Keith standing in front of Peter.

"THE HELL IS YOUR PROBLEM?" Keith shouted at Dan and Gary. Dan took Gary's hand and pulled him back up. The music stopped playing and everyone stared at them. "WHY DO YOU HAVE PICK ON PEOPLE JUST TO MAKE YOURSELVES FEEL BETTER?"

Dan and Gary got up in Keith's face, but before anyone could do anything one of the teachers got in the middle and kicked Dan and Gary out.

"This isn't over!" Gary yelled as they left.

Everyone began to clap for Keith as he helped Peter up and the music started again. Lisa and Keith started to dance again as did Peter and April.

Keith pulled his Mustang up to the curb of Lisa's house and shut off the car. There was a moment of silence.

"I had a really nice time tonight," Lisa said, unbuckling her seat belt.

"Ya, so did I."

Lisa leaned in, and the two of them started to kiss. The kiss was broken by the windshield shattering.

"Come on get out of the car, geek boy!" yelled Gary, who was holding a bat and standing in front of Keith's car. "Come on!" He slammed the bat into the driver's side window, smashing it open.

Keith got out of the car. Gary grabbed him by the shoulders and slammed him against the car.

"I'm not gonna fight you Gary, you're drunk!" Keith said, trying to talk his way out of fighting.

"Well I'm gonna fight you," Gary insisted, hitting Keith in the shoulder with the bat, knocking him to the ground. Lisa got out of the car and ran over to where Gary and Keith were.

"LEAVE HIM ALONE!" she yelled, trying to push Gary away.

"Shut up, witch!" Gary slapped Lisa across the face.

"Gary!" Dan, who up till now had been sitting in his car watching, came running out of the car. "Dude, that's enough!"

Gary swung the bat again hitting Keith across the face this time. Blood began to drip from Keith's forehead. He stood back up; his eyes were filled with rage and he punched Gary across the face. He then turned and grabbed a hold of Gary's shirt and slammed him into the side of the car. Gary hit the car with a THUD, then bounced off and hit the ground head first.

"WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON OUT HERE?" a man in a bathrobe yelled as he and a woman went running out of Lisa's house. The woman rushed to Lisa's side. The man went around the car. He looked at Keith, then at the boy lying on the ground. He bent down and checked the boy for a pulse. "Oh my god, he's dead!"

Present day

"Miss, I asked you a question," the police officer said to Sarah Carol. "How do you know Keith Lambert?"

"I don't know Keith Lambert," Sarah said to the cop in a slow, soothing voice.

"Ok, have a good day then," the officer said.

"You too."

The two girls walked out of the school. "Ok," Becca asked as they got back into their taxi, "what just happened in there?"

"I'll explain on the way," Sarah said, then turned her attention to the cab driver. "Oak St. please."

"So let me get this straight…you can take control of people's minds?" Becca asked Sarah as they approached the Lamberts' front yard.

"Not exactly take control, but I can make them believe things I want them to," she replied as they reached the fort in the back yard.

"I don't understand. This guy killed someone, and we're going to add him to the team?"

"We'll, I already scanned his mind, and I talked to David, and he told me to offer him a place to stay till we can fix his legal problem."

"Can't you just make him join us?

"No, I don't abuse my powers like that."

"Ya know," Keith said, climbing down out of the fort. "If you guys are trying to sneak up on me you're doing a really bad job at it. Are you here to arrest me?"

"No we're here to offer you a way out of your legal problems."

"Whatever it is, count me in."

Jay, Tom, and Maro were all sitting in a café in the heart of Boston. The topics of their conversations were varied. Sarah, Becca, and Keith all entered the café and sat down at the table with Tom and the others. Introductions were made.

Ten minutes later, David, Alyson, and two other people came in, one of whom was a tall male with spiked hair with frosted tips. He wore sunglasses, a t-shirt, and blue jeans. The other was a woman with dark blue hair. She was wearing a halter top and a short skirt. The four of them sat down with the others.

"I'd like you all to meet Alyson Sevigny," Alyson gave a quick wave, "Flavius Nour," Flav gave a nod to the group, "and lastly Crystal Clegg." They all sat around talking for a bit then left and got on the X-jet.

David sat down in front of his newly set up computer. He typed a few keys and on the screen the title Neo-X appeared at the top. So he began to type:

Thomas Tollefson -Flex-has enhanced senses, strength, and healing.

Jason Gemignani -X -has the ability to control metal and has a healing factor that is off the charts.

Sarah Carol- Psi- is telekinetic and telepathathic.

Rebecca Tarson- Frost- has the ability to generate ice.

Alyson Sevigny- Powerhouse -has super senses, strength, slight healing factor, minor telepathy and the ability to fly.

Keith Lambert-Rift-super strength

Flavius Nour-Deceiver-has the ability to release a pheromone that makes women do what ever he says.

Maro Bush-Boomer-has the ability to create plasma bombs out of her hands.

Crystal Clegg-Bluestreak-has the ability to control the weather.

David looked over the list of the nine mutants, and for the first time since Cyclops was killed, he felt hope for the future.


	5. NeoX 5

**Issue five **

The sound of David Warden's leather boots echoed through the halls of the new home of Neo-X with every step. _It's a big change to go from being an X-Man to leading a team. _He thought to himself. At the moment he had no idea what to do next, all he knew was that he owed it to his mentor Scott Summers.

Dave stepped in to the large living room and looked around at all the new members of Neo-X. Jason Gemignani and Maro Bush sat on the brand new vinyl coach, while Flavius Nour, Crystal Clegg stood off to the side talking, Thomas Tollefson, and Sarah Carol sat at a table playing chess. Alyson Sevigny sat and watched them play, while Keith Lambert and Becca Tarson sat on bean bags in front of the entertainment center as they played video games.

David glanced out across the scene of lively teenagers for a moment before crossing the room and to stand in from of the TV. "Becca could you please shut off the TV and could all of you please gather around."

After everyone had turned their attention to the larger than life legend, he continued. "I need you all to understand something."

The youthful eyes grew wide with interest, ready to cling to every morsel of knowledge from the man who needed no introduction.

" When I was 13, I was taking college classes. When I was 16 I had my masters. You must understand back then the word 'mutant' was rare to hear, and I wasn't even clear what it meant till I met a man named Scott Summers. He explained that I am a mutant with the power to absorb knowledge of people around me and also as trite as this might sound, this man told me about a dream that he follows for humans and mutants to one day co-exist in peace," David said as his vision slowly moved from one corner of the room to the other, panning the on looking youth.

"For forty years countless numbers of mutants and humans have given their lives to this dream. One such person who was the very first person to join the X-Men was Scott Summers. He is the reason you are all here. Scott wanted to take the dream in a new direction. See the X-Men was formed to be a peace keeping task force where as Neo-X is going to be a peace enforcing task force we will do whatever it takes to stop the threat to humanity weather its human or mutant. Our first target is John Thorn."SYMBOL \f "Symbol"188."

-Five months ago

David sat in Henry McCoy's old lab working on a computer. Cyclops walks by and stopped before the open door, which he knew served as an invite to talk to his long time friend.

"Hey Dave. Whatcha up to?"

"I compiled the list of omega mutant potentials." Dave said turning in his chair.

"How many did you find?"

"Well I'm hoping that most of the members of your team will join so I narrowed it down to four." Dave typed in a few keys on his computer causing a screen to lower. On the screen were four different faces. Before David could say anything Ororo Munroe stepped into his lab. Dave quickly typed a few short commands on the keyboard and the screen went blank.

"Ororo, good to see you this evening" Scott said as the new visitor approached them.

"I wish I was hear on better terms but there's an emergency downtown. I was hoping you could take in your squad mines been training all day there a bit worn out."

"Ya sure not a problem." Scott said on the way out the door.

"I'll tag along." Dave said running over to Scott.

"Good luck, gentlemen." Ororo said

"So when are we gonna tell her?" David asked Scott as they cleared the lab doors.

"I wanna get the team together first I don't know how Ororo will handle this separation but I know it's the right thing to do."

"I'll raise five." A young man, in his late teens with large black leathery wings sticking out of his back, said as he tossed some chips down on the table. The young man's name is Brian Champion who also goes by the name Fallen. Next to Brian sits an attractive blonde draped in a tattered black shirt and leather pants with a chain around her neck. This girl is named Amy Tollefson also known as Vamptress due to her power to drain a person's energy and give her self increased strength.

Next to her sat her twin brother, Thomas Tollefson, also known as Flex. His name has nothing to due to his powers, which are enhanced senses, enhanced agility and strength. Next to him is a young man whose body is made out of rock his name is Matt Dillon also known as Rockslide.

"I'm gonna ummmSYMBOL \f "Symbol"188." Tom said looking from his cards then back to the table.

"Oh come on Tom we both know your gonna fold." Brian said with a grin.

"Hey, now I just need to think for a moment ." Tom glanced back at the table again before placing his cards down. "I fold."

Laughter erupted around the table. "Thomas you suck at this game." Amy said playfully hitting her brother in the arm. "Il see your five and raiseSYMBOL \f "Symbol"188."

{ALL MEMBERS OF X-MEN GOLD PLEASE REPORT TO THE WAR ROOM IMMEDIATELY}

"Damn, just when I had a good hand" Amy said tossing her cards on the table and getting up along side Brian and Tom as all three headed for the door.

"Um guys whose gonna go get the lovebirds?" Tom asked as they walked towards the war room. The lack of a responds for either of them told Tom that he was the one who was left the task of getting the rest of his teammates. "Ah crap."

A door swung open like it was kicked, but no one was standing in front of it. Just seconds later two young people came stumbling in, wrapped in each other's arms, kissing fiercely. They stumble a bit more till they landed on a couch, never breaking their kissing. The door swung shut by the same unseen force. This would be a regular scene between two regular young adults on a Friday night, however the only difference was that these two teens were anything but normal. The first, Sarah Carol also known as "Psi," had the power of telekinesis and telepathy. The young man she's kissing; Jason Gemignani also known as "X," could break apart or fuse metal and has a healing factor that's off any scientist's chart. Between the two of them, they could take on a small army but right now they just want to be normal and enjoy the evening.

"ThisSYMBOL \f "Symbol"188this has been aSYMBOL \f "Symbol"188nice night." Sarah said between kisses.

"Nothing can wreck this." Jay said sliding Sarah shirt off.

As if on cue there was knock on the door. "Um JaySYMBOL \f "Symbol"188SarahSYMBOL \f "Symbol"188"

"You have to be freaking kidding me!" Sarah said sitting up. Once Sarah put her shirt back on, she used her telekinesis to open the door to see Thomas standing there. Jay and Sarah walk over to the door.

"I hope I didn't interrupt anything." Tom said keeping his eyes to the floor.

"No." Sarah said as they headed down the stairs. "We were just watching a movie."

"Um, Hun." Jay said leaning over to Sarah. "Your shirts on backwards."

"Oh." Sarah blushed "So umSYMBOL \f "Symbol"188 what's going on."

"All I know is that team gold was called to the war room."

"Great, remind me to have a word with Scott." Jay said as the three of them headed to the war room.

Jay, Sarah and Tom walked into War room to see Cyclops, Renegade, Vamptress, Fallen and Sparkler.

"Glad you could join us." Cyclops said as the three of them sat down.

"Sorry, Sir."

"Oh you told him tough guy." Tom said leaning over Jay shoulder.

"Ok enough jokes. We have a situation, about an hour ago a group of Friends of Humanity showed up at a hospital that treats mutants. They caused some damage and as they were going to leave, but the police showed up trapping them inside the hospital. That's where we come in. Everyone suit up we leave immediately."

{THIS IS CAPTAIN CROW YOU NEED TO ANWSER THE PHONE SO WE CAN FIND OUT WHAT IT IS YOU WANT. IF YOU DON'T WE WILL HAVE NO CHOICE BUT TO COME IN BY FORCE!} Captain Crow shouted into to the megaphone, which he pointed towards the hospital where the incident.

"Captain." A cop said walking over to him. "There are some people here to see you."

"FBI?" the captain asked turning around.

"I don't think so sir." The officer said pointing to the visitors he was talking about.

Captain Crow looked over where the officer was pointing to see a large black man alongside of him was a man wearing a yellow visor over his eyes.

"Want me to get rid of them, sir."

"No, Davis, I'll handle them." Captain Crow said walking over to the two visitors.

"Cyclops, Renegade it's good to see you again." Captain Crow said shaking their hands.

"So Jim what seems to be the problem?"

"Ok listen up." Cyclops said gathered around his team. "According to the captain there are sixteen FOH members inside spread through out the hospital along with four hostages a doctor, nurse and two young kids who are both mutants. The police have done a heat image and found that there are two at the front entrance, three at the back, two at the emergency entrance three in the south entrance and six in the hospital cafeteria. So we're gonna split into sets of twos: Renegade and I will talk the south entrance, Vamptress and Psi take the emergency entrance, Sparkler and Flex front entrance and X and Fallen take the back we'll meet at the entrance to the cafeteria. Go and be careful." the members of X-Men gold all split of into groups of twos.

Sparkler went skipping up to the front door and knocked. One of the FOH members looked out the window just as Sparkler unleashed a wave of colorful plasma blasts that blew out the window and blinded the FOH member. Flex rushed the door knocking it in to the other FOH member, and sending himdown.

"Ahhh my eyes my eyes." The blinded FOH member screamed. Flex punched him across the face knocking him out. Sparkler stared at him.

"What? He's in less pain." Flex said with a smile.

"Right." Sparkler said raising her hand to his mouth. "Front clear."

"So, how did it go with Jay?" Vamptress asked as she and Psi flew towards the emergency entrance

"It was going nice. I thought for once we were going to have a night with out interruptions."

"Oh, poor baby." Vamptress said with a smile.

"Well, at least I can take out my sexual frustrations on these idiots." Psi said as the two of them landed in front of three FOH members. "Hi ya boys."

"Emergency exit clear." Vamptress voice cracked over Cyclops intercom.

"Wow. Your team is good." Renegade said kicking the last of the FOH members in the face.

"Now you can see why I want them to join." Cyclops said as they got into an elevator. Cyclops lifted his intercom up. "Fallen, what's your status?"

"SYMBOL \f "Symbol"188SYMBOL \f "Symbol"188SYMBOL \f "Symbol"188SYMBOL \f "Symbol"188SYMBOL \f "Symbol"188."

"Fallen?"

Fallen ducked a punch coming at his head and kneed his attacker in the gut and punched him in the face.

"Fallen, what's your status?" Fallen ducked, as X used his powers to send his attacker flying against the wall.

"Fallen?"

"Sorry, Cyclops, we were a little busy."

"That's fine so what's your status?"

"We're all clear and will meet you soon."

"We're all clear and will meet you soon."

"So, did you have anyone in mind for a name? Let me guys Cyclops' Thugs?"Renegade asked during the elevator ride down to the cafeteria.

"Well I was thinking of the name Neo-X."

"Really?"

"Ya why?

"Nothing just seems kinda of strong."

"That's what it need to be the step we are gonna take is going to be unlike any other one we have ever taken. So I figured a strong name for a strong team." Cyclops said as the doors open to revel the rest of the X-Men waiting out side the cafeteria.

The X-Men quick busted into the cafeteria and took out the six Friends of Humanity members. Renegade checked on the hostages. The doctor had a few cuts, the nurse had a broken arm but the two mutant children were dead.

Cyclops picked up the nurse. "X help the doctor out the rest of you secure the FOH members Ill send the police in."

X was a few feet behind Cyclops and the nurse helping the doctor out of the building. When the doctor started to mumble.

"TSYMBOL \f "Symbol"188the tSYMBOL \f "Symbol"188things they did to those cSYMBOL \f "Symbol"188cSYMBOL \f "Symbol"188cchildren it wasSYMBOL \f "Symbol"188"

"Easy, doctor, you have been through a lot." X said trying to calm down the doctor.

"It was beautiful to see those muties die."

"What?" X said before he could turn around he was hit in the back of the head causing him to stumble to the floor.

Cyclops spun around to see X fall he couldn't reach his visor due to the fact that the nurse was in his arms.

"Freak!" The doctor said shooting Cyclops in the head killing him instantly. The doctors then turned and aimed the gun at X who unleashed a massive magnetic blast causing the doctor to slam against the wall.

Present Day.

"You see." David continued his story to the newly reformed Neo-X. "When the Friends of Humanity broke in to the hospital it was a set up because they knew the X-Men would respond so a member named John Thorn posed as a doctor. He shot Cyclops and was going to kill X but was taken down before he could. You see in the beginning the X-Men had a simple way of doing things bad guys would cause trouble they'd go out and handle it, but times have changed the bad guy has no problem killing and I'm sick of waiting for them to show up and kill and all we do is put them in jail. That is why Neo-X has been reformed. We wll stop the threat no matter what the cost so now that you have all heard why you are here, who can I count in." One by one each member raised their hand to show their commitment to the cause.

-End of Issue five

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